Hello everybody,
I just got a Schneider SA 72mm XL for my Arca-Swiss F 4x5 and installed the wide-angle bellows (the leather version) I bought new some time ago. When focused to infinity, rising (or shifting) the front or rear by more than say a half inch requires a lot of effort and both tilt and swing need to be locked tight otherwise the standards move all over the place. I just do not recognize my experience with the report that Barry Sherman has written on the AS wide-angle bellows in this forum. Even taking the bellows off the camera and shifting the front and rear openings with respect to each other while keeping them a few inches apart (simulating a rise or shift with a wide angle lens focused to inifinity) does require significant effort because the pleats instead of facilitating the movement make it harder by bumping one against the other.
Does the AS leather wide-angle bellows require some break-in? Am I doing something wrong? Are my expectations just unreasonable?
Thanks!
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